MaximumPC 2005 03

10 UPS Shipment Tracker

You just ordered a shiny new CPU, and

you’re dying for it to arrive. What better

way to keep an eye on its status than

with the UPS Shipment Tracker. Input

up to five tracking numbers and this

handy widget will keep you updated on

your package’s status, ‘round the clock.

No more mashing “refresh” on the UPS page

for you! ■

1 ClipDrop

The Clipboard

history sidebar in

Microsoft Office

might seem like

a goofy feature, but

we’ve always liked it.

The ClipDrop widget

works exactly the same

way: It saves the last few

items that appear on your clipboard, and then lets you

paste them to the clipboard—in any application.

2 mini FTP We upload files to a private FTP

site all the time, and the mini FTP widget makes

it easier than ever. Once you set up the

widget to point to your FTP site, all

you have to do is drag and drop the

files you want to upload to it, and away

they go.

3 mini iTunes Remote iTunes is fabu-

lous for managing large music collections,

but the included mini-player mode is too

big and clunky. The mini

iTunes Remote offers

all the important func-

tionality—play, pause,

next track, and previous

track—in a much tidier

package.

4 iTunes

Companion The

iTunes Companion

also offers remote

control of iTunes,

but we turn those

features off. Instead,

we set the widget to

float and it quietly

grabs album cover

art from Amazon.

MARCH 2005 MAXIMUMPC 3

5 eBay Watcher Let’s face it, there’s a whole lot of neat stuff
for sale on eBay, but it’s a drag to keep checking eBay’s ass-slow
web site. With the eBay Watcher widget, you can plug in the auc-
tion IDs of the items you’re interested in, and it’ll update the cur-
rent high bid every five minutes.

6 mini Calendar This is

a pretty easy concept: mini

Calendar is like a calendar,

but smaller. You can change

months and click on different

days, or just leave it floating in

the background.

7 mini Weather The only

real difference between the

full-size Weather widget and the

svelte mini Weather widget is the

absence of the four-day forecast.

After all, how often is a forecast

accurate that far in advance, except for maybe San Diego,

where the weather never changes. If you just want a small

widget to display the current temperature and precipitation

status, this one’s for you.

8 Blogliner Blogliner is a fancy online news-

aggregation web site. You tell Blogliner which sites

you want to keep track of—it includes such favorites as

Slashdot, BoingBoing, and Shacknews, but you can add

any site with an RSS feed—and Blogliner serves as a web-based

RSS reader. The Blogliner widget tells you when you have new

news and how many stories have been posted since your last visit.

9 Chrome Clock Have digital clocks

stolen your ability to instantly read analog

time? Do you prefer round to square? Are

you, or have you ever been, a member of

the Society for Creative Anachronism? If

you answered yes to any of the preceding

questions, you should check out the many

nifty analog clock widgets available for

Konfabulator. They’re all great, but we like

Chrome Clock best.

The only

full-size Weather widget and the

svelte mini Weather widget is the

absence of the four-day forecast.

After all, how often is a forecast

8

aggregation web site. You tell Blogliner which sites

you want to keep track of—it includes such favorites as

Slashdot, BoingBoing, and Shacknews, but you can add

any site with an RSS feed—and Blogliner serves as a web-based

you want to keep track of—it includes such favorites as

Slashdot, BoingBoing, and Shacknews, but you can add

9

stolen your ability to instantly read analog

time? Do you prefer round to square? Are

you, or have you ever been, a member of

the Society for Creative Anachronism? If

you answered yes to any of the preceding

questions, you should check out the many

nifty analog clock widgets available for

Konfabulator

Chrome Clock best.

9

stolen your ability to instantly read analog

time? Do you prefer round to square? Are

you, or have you ever been, a member of

the Society for Creative Anachronism? If

you answered yes to any of the preceding

questions, you should check out the many

nifty analog clock widgets available for

Konfabulator

Chrome Clock best.

You just ordered a shiny new CPU, and

you’re dying for it to arrive. What better

handy widget will keep you updated on

your package’s status, ‘round the clock.

lous for managing large music collections,

but the included mini-player mode is too

big and clunky. The mini

next track, and previous

works exactly the same

way: It saves the last few way: It saves the last few

works exactly the same

way: It saves the last few

10 Kon-fabulous Widgets Everyone Needs

Not every widget is good for everyone, but all of these widgets kick ass